Good News For Pet Lovers Can Get Better

(NAPSI)—There's good news for people who love animals. The percentage of dogs
and cats in homes adopted from shelters and rescue groups has risen from 27 to
29 percent in the last few years, while the number of healthy and treatable pets
losing their lives for lack of a home has dropped from 3 million to 2.7 million.

It would be even better news if that number dropped to zero.

That's the goal of The Shelter Pet Project, the national PSA campaign to
encourage pet lovers to make shelters the first choice and desired way for
acquiring companion animals.

The television, radio, print, outdoor and Web public service ads direct
audiences to visit www.theshelterpetproject.org,
where they can search for a pet from a local shelter or rescue group, read
adoption success stories and learn more about pet adoption.

Approximately 17 million people will acquire a pet within the next year, but
many remain undecided where they will acquire their pet. "Pets end up in
shelters through no fault of their own—they are often victims of circumstance,"
said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane
Society of the United
States. "If enough people in our nation choose
adoption, we can eliminate the euthanasia of healthy and treatable pets in our
country."

Each year, approximately 4 million pets are adopted.

The campaign hopes to encourage people to adopt from shelters by explaining
that "A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet."

The Shelter Pet Project is the first animal welfare campaign that the Ad
Council has undertaken in its 60-year history. The campaign was taken on in
partnership with The Humane Society of the United
States and Maddie's
Fund®.

According to Maddie's Fund president Rich Avanzino, "We are hopeful that the new ads will also inspire
the 14 million animal lovers who have already adopted to tell their friends why
shelters are the first and best places to go for a new four-legged family
member."

The ads, created pro bono by Draftfcb, focus on the
relationship between shelter pets and their owners by featuring pets observing
their humans' quirky yet lovable behaviors.

"We are confident that the optimism of our message will resonate with the
millions of potential adopters who are still out there and bring us even closer
to our goal," said Nick Paul, EVP, global chief growth officer, Draftfcb.